Washington ? Michael Jordan missed the game-winner at the buzzer, prompting Ira Newble to go public with a bold claim.

“He’s the Jordan-stopper,” said Darvin Ham, egging Newble on in the Atlanta Hawks’ locker room.

Newble smiled.

“He’s retiring,” Newble said, “so I can say that.”

In his first game ever with no playoff meaning, Jordan played as if the game mattered as much as the rest. He scored 17 points and made a thrilling go-ahead shot over Newble in the final minute, but Newble was in his face as he missed the final one in the Hawks’ 101-100 victory over the Washington Wizards Saturday night.

Told of Newble’s postgame boost, Jordan let out a hearty laugh, the kind one hears from someone who has just four days left until retirement.

“He can say that, obviously,” Jordan said. “We won’t see him again. He can say anything he wants to say right now. That’s pretty cool.”

Newble had a big game, stuffing in an offensive rebound with 8 seconds to go for the last of his career-high 21 points. Jordan’s 13-foot fadeaway had given the Wizards a one-point lead with 18 seconds left, and it was a 20-footer that was off the mark at the end.

“I had a decent look, but I didn’t feel I was comfortable to shoot the ball,” Jordan said. “But with no time on the clock, I had to put it up.”

Jordan, whose Wizards were eliminated from playoff contention Friday night, played 30 minutes, his fewest in more than a month. Coach Doug Collins said he would rest Jordan because he wanted “these other guys to have to play to try to win a game.”

He should have known better. Jordan wanted to be there at the end.

Washington's Michael Jordan rests in the fourth quarter of Saturday's game against Atlanta in Washington. The Wizards wore replica Washington Bullets uniforms to honor the 25th anniversary of the franchise's last NBA title.

“I wanted to play to win,” Jordan said.

A strong statement considering that in Jordan’s previous 1,069 regular-season NBA games, his team was always in the running for the postseason. The Bulls made the playoffs all 13 seasons Jordan was in Chicago, and a knee injury kept him out of the final games after the Wizards were eliminated last season.

Jordan missed his first four shots and was called for a reckless charge in the first quarter, but he was the go-to player down the stretch. His flying one-handed dunk off a beautiful feed from Christian Laettner ignited a late comeback from seven down with 2:59 to play.

Jason Terry also scored 21 points for the Hawks, who have won five of six and got their 34th victory, surpassing last season’s total. Ham, who has been fighting the flu, was 5-of-6 and had 12 points.

“Incremental progress,” coach Terry Stotts said.

Mavs 117, Warriors 108

Dallas — Dirk Nowitzki had 37 points and 12 rebounds and Steve Nash added 21 points and 10 assists as Dallas finally broke the team record with its 58th victory. The Mavericks had lost three straight since tying the mark, and had dropped four of five to relinquish their season-long grip on the NBA’s best record.

Nets 94, Raptors 86

East Rutherford, N.J. — Richard Jefferson scored 21 points and banked in a three-pointer from mid-court at the end of the third quarter. Kenyon Martin added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 17 points and eight assists. Morris Peterson had 22 points and Rafer Alston 19 to lead the injury-riddled Raptors.

Magic 89, Celtics 86

Orlando, Fla. — Tracy McGrady scored 37 points and Gordan Giricek hit the winning three-pointer with 32.2 seconds left as the Magic beat Boston in their home finale.

Orlando won its third straight and moved into a tie with the Celtics for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining for both teams. But Boston owns the tiebreaker thanks to its 3-2 record against the Magic. Paul Pierce had 25 points and nine rebounds for Boston.

Cavs 104, Knicks 99, OT

Cleveland — Ricky Davis had 37 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Cleveland trailed by 15 points midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 21-6 run to tie it as the Knicks went stone cold from the field.

With the comeback, the Cavs (16-65) avoided having the worst single-season record in team history. Cleveland went 15-67 in 1970-71 — its inaugural season — and again in 1981-82.

Kurt Thomas had 23 points and Shandon Anderson a season-high 21 for New York.

Rockets 101, Sonics 86

Houston — Cuttino Mobley scored 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter to help Houston keep its slim playoff hopes alive. Steve Francis also had 17 points for the Rockets, who will be eliminated from playoff contention today if the Phoenix Suns beat San Antonio at home.

Brent Barry led Seattle with 23 points.

Clippers 101, Nuggets 79

Denver — Rookie Marko Jaric scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Andre Miller had 16 points and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Denver Nuggets. Corey Maggette added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Los Angeles shot 46 percent from the field.